Hunted
by musicalocelot
Summary: When Rouge is accused of a crime that she didn't commit, and now Shadow is after her, What will she do? Who will she turn to? And who actually committed the crime?
1. Chapter 1

**(Hey guys! I probably shouldn't be starting another story while I'm already doing Return to Mobius but I just had to! If I don't start this now I will forget it! So here is a story that I think will be really good. Well, I hope it is. So... here's chapter one comin at cha...)**

**Hunted...**

**The Broken Rose...**

**(Shadow's POV)**

The restaurant wasn't very crowded. There were only a few tables taken. No, it wasn't the fanciest restaurant. It wasn't the most expensive. It wasn't romantic. But it was the diner where their friendship began.

**-(Flash back three years ago)- **

It was pouring rain on that lonely summer night. The ebony and red hedgehog was walking down the street, not really heading anywhere. Yes, he was just walking. Through the rain. Why? He didn't really know. He was just walking.

There wasn't a soul in sight besides Shadow. He was completely alone. Or so he thought. Looking ahead, He saw a small form, sitting on the ground below a lamp post. As Shadow got closer, he could see who the person was. It was Amy, sitting on the ground, crying hysterically.

Shadow stopped a few feet from her. _What happened to her for her to be such a mess? _"Rose?" He asked. She shot her head up. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were puffy. Tears streamed down her face. She just stared at him. He stared back.

"S-Shadow...?" She choked out. Looking closer at her, he could see she was shivering from the cold. "Rose, you're going to get sick out here." He looked around and saw a small diner. It looked open. "Follow me." He said.

He started walking toward the diner, but stopped when he realized she wasn't following him. He turned around. She was still on the ground, her face contorted in confusion. "Are you coming?" He asked.

She lifted herself to her feet and made her way to him. They walked into the diner together.

It was almost completely empty. A couple older looking men were sitting at a booth, reading newspapers and sipping coffee. They were the only people in the entire restaurant besides the waitress standing behind the counter.

Shadow and Amy took a seat at the counter and the waitress, a middle aged horse with brown fur and hair, walked over to them and handed them menus. "What drinks can I get for ya?" She asked. Shadow looked at Amy who was staying silent except for a sob every now and then. He saw the waitress looking at her concerned. "A hot chocolate for her." He said.

The waitress nodded and wrote it down. "And for you sir?" She asked. "No thanks." He said.

The waitress shouted the order to the kitchen and walked away to tend to the other customers.

After a few minutes the waitress came back with a steaming hot cup of hot chocolate. "Here is your order." She said. "How much?" He asked. The waitress looked over at the pink hedgehog and said. "It's on the house." She walked away to the back.

Shadow looked down at Amy. "You ready to talk?" He asked. She looked over at him. "I-I guess s-so." She stuttered.

Shadow sat there, waiting for her to explain herself. She spoke. "Well, it started a few hours ago. At least I think it was hours. Anyway, I was at the park, waiting for Sonic. It was supposed to be our first date. As you can imagine, I was really excited." She stopped for a minute, staring down at her hot chocolate.

"He got there late. We were supposed to be having a pic-nick, so when I saw that he didn't have a pic-nick basket, I knew something was off." A lone tear fell from her eye as she went on.

"I asked him, 'Sonic, where's the pic-nick basket?' I sure wasn't expecting what happened next." More tears started to fall from her face. _Whatever he did it must have been bad. _Shadow thought.

She continued. "He told me that it was a mistake for him to agree with the date. He said that he didn't feel the same way as I did. He said that I just wasn't right for him. I told him that he was wrong. That I was right for him. I told him that I loved him so much and that I didn't understand.

Then he snapped. He yelled at me saying that this was why I wasn't right for him. He said that I come on too strong. That, to him, I'm just another crazy fan girl. The craziest one. He said that I'm immature and obsessed and that I just need to grow up. So I ran away from him." With that she broke down. Her head leaned on the counter as her tears fell like the rain.

Shadow couldn't help but feel angry for the way Sonic had treated her. _How could he even think things like that about Rose? Can't he see her for what she is? I guess not. _Then Amy started to cough terribly.

"Rose, how long were you sitting there in the rain?" he asked. "H-hours." She said. He looked at her and saw that her face was a paler pink then normal. He put his hand on her forehead. She was burning up.

"Rose, you have a fever." He said. He didn't know what he was supposed to do. "Shadow, I don't feel so good." She said. She shakily got to her feet and made her way to the bathroom. He followed behind her. When he got there she had her head over the toilet, puking her guts out.

Shadow was not only feeling sorry for her, but he was also feeling anger toward Sonic for doing this to her. _That inconsiderate faker! How could he do this to her? All she ever did for him was love him, and this is how he thanks her? _

When she finished, Shadow helped her to her feet and took her back to her seat.

He knew that she really needed to rest. He didn't know where she lived, but his apartment was only a couple blocks away. He left a tip for the waitress. He picked Amy up bridal style and took off for his apartment.

When he got there, he layed her down on his bed and left the room to go get a wet towel to put on her head. When he got back he placed the towel on her head and put a glass of water on the bandstand for her. He gave her some medicine that would help with her fever and help her to sleep. "Shadow?" She said. "Rest Rose, you need to rest." he said.

**-(End of flash back)- **

After that night, they had formed a friendship that ended up turning into something more. They started dating two years ago. His life had never been better. And now, after three years, he was finally ready to take the next step. He was going to propose to her.

He tapped his fingers on the counter impatiently. _What's taking her so long? She's never late for a date. _He had told her to be there at 8:00 P.M. sharp, but now it was 8:45. _Maybe something happened... _That was when his cell phone rang.

He answered.

"Hello?"

"hey Shadow." Greeted Sonic

"Faker, what is it?" Shadow asked.

"Shadow, I have some very bad news..."

_What could he possibly have to tell me. _"It's about Amy."

His heart leaped to his throat. "What happened? Where is she?" He demanded.

"Come down here right away. It's just a couple streets from your apartment." Shadow hung up the phone and raced to the location.

He saw the flashing red and blue lights from the police cars. Sonic was speaking with an officer. He saw him and gave him a sad look.

"What's going on?" Shadow asked, walking up to Sonic and the police officer. "Where is Rose?"

He looked over to the street where a few men were lifting a girl onto a gurney. That girl was Amy Rose. Shadow raced to her side. She was unconscious and bleeding badly. She had several injuries and bruises all over her body and it looked like she was barely holding onto life. His heart nearly snapped in half.

"Who did this?!" Shadow asked in sudden rage, turning to face Sonic. The next statement nearly knocked Shadow off his feet. "I-it was Rouge."

**(OK there's the first chapter! Hope you enjoyed it!The next chapter will be coming soon! Please tell me what you thought in the reviews and don't hesitate to criticize. Till next time.) **


	2. A bat on the run

**(Hello again :). **

**To Star Splice: I'm glad you like the story. I'm not sure who that Cascade person is but I agree with you. Poor poor Amy! I felt so sorry for her and I'm the one who wrote it XD.**

**To Bearvalley3365: At this point in the story I don't know if I can use your characters or not. Maybe but I can't promise you anything right now. Same with my story Return To Mobius.**

**Disclaimer: I do not** **own any of the characters you recognize! I only own the story plot and any characters I make up and such.**

**OK now that I have said all I needed to say, here's chapter 2 comin at cha...)**

**Hunted...**

**A bat on the run...**

**(Rouge's POV)**

She was sitting in her room at her vanity brushing her hair. She was just about to go to bed.

_I wonder how things went for Shadow? I'm just sure Amy said yes. How could she not? _Rouge smiled remembering how Shadow had come to her a few days ago with a question. He, very hesitantly, had asked her what she thought Amy would say if he proposed to her.

"Well she would say yes, duh." Rouge had told him. He was supposed to propose to her that very night. Rouge had made him promise to text me with her answer after the deed had been done.

The white bat looked at her phone quizzically. _Why hasn't he sent me a message yet? I'm sure he must have done it by now... _

Shrugging her shoulders, She got up off her chair and headed to her closet. She picked out a pink nightgown and changed into it. Rouge walked over to her bathroom, which was attached to the bedroom, and washed off her makeup.

Drying her face with a towel, she walked back into the bedroom and was just about to turn off the lamp when she heard something outside her room. It sounded like the door being forced open.

Suddenly very alert, Rouge walked over to her bedroom door and opened it just a crack so she could see what was going on in the main room of her apartment.

She grew confused when she saw a very angry looking black and red hedgehog searching around her apartment. _Why would Shadow be here? And why would he just barge into my apartment like that? What's going on? _Her head range with questions as she opened her bedroom door all the way and stepped out.

"Shadow? What are you doing here?" She asked. When he turned to her, she could tell he was angry beyond description. _Why is he looking at me like that? _

Suddenly, without even a warning, she was pinned to the wall. "Shadow...!?" Rouge cried out, confused and, well, kinda afraid. She had seen Shadow show this kind of anger, but never toward her.

"Why did you do it Rouge?" He practically growled at her. He had his arm pushing dangerously against her neck. It was all she could do to hold back his arm enough for her to breath. "W-what are you talking about?" She choked.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about!" He yelled in her face. Truthfully, she didn't have a clue.

"Amy was attacked tonight on her way to the diner." He said. Her eyes grew wide. _What!? _

"She's now laying in a hospital bed barely clinging to life." He continued. "Sonic had been nearby when it happened. He said he heard her screaming and got there just in time to watch a bat fly off. He found this." Shadow said, lifting up a small object.

Rouge looked at the object and was shocked to find that it was her lipstick! She had lost it days ago. _Wait... _"You did it Rouge! The police found your fingerprints all over the place. You were there and you attacked Amy!"

"Shadow! How could you even think-" She was cut off by him grabbing her by the throat and slamming her to the ground painfully. "Don't even try to say that you're innocent. You're not going to talk your way out of this one Rouge." He spat out the last word as if it were poison to the tongue.

Without any other choice, she used both her feet to kick Shadow in the chest, knocking him into the air and off of her. She climbed quickly to her feet and made a run for the door.

She felt a tug on her wing as she was pulled back and thrown into a bookcase. She fell to the floor. The bookcase would have fallen right on top of her if she hadn't gotten out of the way just in time.

Shadow charged toward her and sent a powerful punch to her gut, winding her. The white bat fought for air as he kicked her to the floor.

She looked up at him, only to see eyes full of anger and hatred. She had never been this scared in her life. And she's almost never scared. You couldn't blame her though, since she was being attacked by a very angry ultimate life form!

"Shadow, please! Listen to me! I didn't hurt Amy. I would never hurt Amy! She's like a sister to me! I must have been framed. You have to believe me Shadow!" Her cries fell on deaf ears.

He picked her up by her arm and threw her into her bedroom door. It flew open and she fell to the floor. _I've got to get away from here. He's gonna kill me!_

Picking herself up off the floor, she scrambled to her vanity chair and grabbed it. When Shadow ran into the room, she slammed it against his head. _That should give me just enough time._

She ran over to her window and issued a flying kick, shattering the glass. The albino bat jumped out through the window and flew away.

OoOoOoOoOoO

After hours of flying, Rouge was getting very tired. Her wings were so close to giving out. She wasn't really paying attention to where she was flying, she was just going wherever her wings were taking her.

Just as she was about to find somewhere to land, a land mass suddenly came into her vision. It was floating in the sky. _Angel Island? Why did I fly here? _Then a thought came to her mind. _Maybe. Just maybe... but will he believe me? He has to. He just has to. He's probably the only one I can turn to now..._

**(OK there's chapter 2! Hope I did OK with that whole scene and I'm sorry my chapters are short. Till next time...) **


	3. Who the heck could that be?

**(Hiya guys! I'm so glad you like the story so far! This story is doing very good already! Much better then my other stories XD. Maybe I'm getting better. Well enough of my babbling. I must stop babbling now before I start babbling about babbling. OH NO it's too late!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic and co. but if I did then things would be VERY different. **

**OK so here's chapter 3 comin at cha...)**

**Hunted...**

**Who the heck could that be?...**

**(Knuckles' POV)**

Knuckles lifted himself to his feet. _Time to hit the sack. _He thought to himself. He looked over at the Master Emerald. That emerald sure was a beauty. No wonder so many people wanted it. _I wouldn't be surprised if some of those people just wanted to turn it into jewelry. _He chuckled to himself, thinking about the Master Emerald being put on a ring. _Wouldn't that be a sight. I bet that crazy bat would love a ring like that. _

He started walking away when he realized something. _Why did she just come to my mind? I haven't seen her in a couple years! _

Yes, it was true. Knuckles had secluded himself on Angel Island a couple years back. He thought that it would be best if he just stayed there to guard the Master Emerald.

It had gotten pretty lonely though. Sure, his friends would visit him every so often. Amy had been there with Shadow just a few weeks back, Though Knuckles was sure that Shadow had only come because Amy made him.

Tails and Sonic would visit sometimes. But Rouge? Nope. She hadn't come by once. Not even to go after the emerald! The crimson guardian didn't know what to make of it. _Why wouldn't she visit me? Not that I care... right? _Knuckles shook his head furiously. _Of course I don't care! Why should I? All she ever did was either argue with me or flirt with me, causing me to blush like a bashful idiot! I'm better off without her._

Still, he couldn't hide the disappointment.

He made his way to his humble home. It had a living room, a kitchen with asmall dining table and a few chairs for when he has visitors, and a bathroom on the first floor. On the second floor was his bedroom and his weight room here he worked out. Yeah. Nothing much, but he didn't need much.

He walked through the door and sat on the couch in the living room. He decided to watch some TV before going to bed. He picked up the remote and turned the TV on, then flipped through the channels.

Soap opera? Yuck. Too mushy.

Sports? Not in the mood.

Talk show? Boring.

News? Hey, why not?

He stopped on the news channel and watched a report on a jewel theft. _Hmm, I wonder if that was Rouge? Wait, why does she keep popping up? Clear your head Knuckles. Clear your head._

He kinda zoned out for a little while, nearly nodding off. He almost jumped right off the couch when he heard a knock on the door. _Who the heck could that be? _He thought as he got up and approached the door.

When he opened it, he got the shock of his life. As soon as he opened the door he felt the impact of a body fall into him. He caught said person. Looking down at the mobian, he saw who it was. It was Rouge! In a pink night gown! In his arms! _What the heck...? _

Feeling awkward, Knuckles quickly took her to the couch and laid her down. She looked totally exhausted and beat up. She had bruises on her neck and other places. Knuckles felt angry that someone would touch her like that, but soon pushed that out of his mind.

He looked down at the unconscious looking bat. After a few seconds, her eyes fluttered open. She pointed those blue eyes toward him. "Wha...?" She looked a bit confused, but soon a light of recognition came to her expression. "Um... so, are you gonna explain why you flew to Angel Island and passed out in my arms?" Knuckles asked, trying not to think about how awkward that last part was.

It looked like she was about to talk when a news report suddenly popped up, taking our attention.

A reporter was on the screen.

"This just in. We have gotten a report that an Amy Rose has been hospitalized after an attempt on her life. Her attacker is reported to be none other then jewel thief turned G.U.N. agent, Rouge the Bat. G.U.N. has issued a warrant for her arrest. Police are currently searching for the bat who has evaded capture by G.U.N. Agent Shadow the Hedgehog. If you see this dangerous criminal, report it immediately to the closest police station."

Knuckles was in total shock. _What the who what?! _He turned to Rouge, noticing how pale she had gotten after the report.

She looked up at him. He suddenly let loose. "What the...! Huh?! Is that... that report, is it true!?" He asked. "Of course not!" Rouge said forcefully. "You know me better then that. I would never do something like that! Especially not to Amy for goodness sake! Knuckles, I don't know what's going on, but you you have to believe me! I didn't attack her. I didn't!"

Knuckles wasn't sure what to think. _She could be feeding me lies. It wouldn't be the first time she's lied to my face, trying to manipulate me. But, those other times, she had always acted flirtatious and sure, sending me suggestive looks and, again, making me blush like an idiot. Could she be telling the truth? _

He looked at her. She looked different with out her makeup. She looked more, Natural? She looked... afraid. He had never seen her like this before. She stared up at him with hope in her eyes that died as the seconds ticked by. Her ears drooped and she looked away. "I should have known you wouldn't believe me." She said, getting up.

He saw her wince as she put weight on her leg. He noticed a large bruise. "Did Shadow attack you? The report did mention you fleeing from him." He wasn't sure why he was asking her, but he just wanted to know. She looked at him with a question in her eyes.

"Why do you care? You're probably just gonna report me to the police anyway." She said, limping to the door. He walked in front of the door, blocking her. "Maybe I will, maybe I won't. First, I need to know if you really did attack Amy or not. I've never seen you as the murdering type, but you've surprised me before." He raised an eyebrow, waiting for her answer.

"I told you Knux, I didn't attack her. Shadow said that the police had proof, but I promise you. I. Didn't. Attack. Her." He stared at her. She stared at him. They just stayed quiet, staring.

Knuckles thought about all that she said. Any sane person would just call the police and end it there. Any sane person wouldn't believe a word she said. Any sane person would, but he was different. He new her better. He new that this wasn't her. She wasn't the type to just go off and attempt to murder her friends out of the blue. Sure, she was a crazy, selfish thief, but she was not a murderer.

"You look tired. You can sleep in my room. I'll take the couch." And with that, Knuckles turned off the TV and laid himself down on the couch. He looked over at Rouge to find that she was just standing there with a shocked expression on her face. _She must think I'm crazy. Hey, maybe I am._

"Well, you gonna go sleep or what? Do I have to carry you upstairs, you crazy bat?" He asked. She snapped out of her state of shock and straitened up. Well, the best she could. "No, of course not." She said.

She started limping toward the stairs. He could tell she was in pain, but she was doing her best to hide it. _Maybe I should help her... no. She can handle it herself. She would probably snap at me if I tried anyway. _

He closed his eyes and just focused on sleeping. His eyes darted open at the sound of a thud and a groan.

He sat up and looked over toward the stairs. Rouge was having trouble picking herself off the ground. Before he knew it, He was off the couch and headed her way. She got to her feet and leaned against the wall.

"So, he did attack you?" Knuckles made the question sound more like a statement. She looked away, but nodded all the same. "He does think I nearly _killed_ his girlfriend after all." She said, keeping her expression emotionless as she gazed at nothing in particular.

For some reason, just the thought of Shadow attacking her upset Knuckles. "Did he even let you speak?" She looked at him. "Take a wild guess." She answered. _That's what I thought. _

**(Rouge's POV)**

She started up the stairs, using the rails for support. Taking a peak behind her, she saw Knuckles head back to the couch. She made it to the top of the stairs. There were two rooms. _Which one is his bedroom? _She took a look into the room to her right. Inside were weights and workout gear. _Of course he works out. _She thought to herself.

She turned to the other door and walked inside.

Just like the rest of the house, it was a simple bedroom. There was a single person bed on the far wall under a window. On it was a plain red blanket and a pillow. On the right wall, there was a small dresser. There was a bedside table with a lamp on it.

She walked over to the bed and got in. She felt kinda weird laying down in Knuckles bed. It almost felt wrong, but at the moment, she was too tired to care much. She settled down and soon she was drifting off to sleep. _What a mess I'm in this time..._ That was her last thought before she fell into the world of slumber.

**(OK that's chapter 3! Hope you enjoyed it. If Knuckles and Rouge looked a bit OOC I will make them more like themselves in the next chapters! I promise you will get the argue-like-an-old-married-couple Knuckles and Rouge that we all know and love! Till next time...)**


	4. I will not stop

**(Hiya guys! I'm back again with another chapter! -audience cheers- Oh you're too kind! XD. **

**Now, I think I'm gonna start making a habit of answering to reviews so here we go.**

**Elegant Solace: So you think it might be Sonic huh? Well you'll just have to wait and see.**

**Bearvalley3365: You wanted chapter four, and here it is! **

**Usagi3000: Yes, Shadow was very mean but 1: Shadow thinks Rouge tried to murder his girlfriend and 2: Well this is Shadow we're talking about. **

**Qwisse: I already replied to ur review. **

**Star Splice: So is there three of you? Or do you just have three split personalities? XD.**

**Oh and a question for you guys. Should I start writing these POVs in first person? Or should I just keep writing how I've been? Answer in your reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic and co. blah blah blah.**

**OK now that that's out of the way, here's chapter 4 comin at cha...)**

**Hunted...**

**I will not stop...**

**(Shadow's POV)**

He walked into the hospital and went strait to the service desk. "May I help you?" The woman behind the desk asked. "I'm looking for Amy Rose." Shadow said. A light of understanding came to her eyes. "Oh, you must be Shadow the Hedgehog." Shadow nodded. "Right this way sir." She said, getting up and walking down the hall. Shadow followed her. After walking a ways she stopped in front of a room. The door was closed.

"I'm afraid she is still unconscious. We don't know how long it will be before she wakes up. You are welcome to go in and see her if you want." The woman said. Shadow nodded. He opened the door and walked in.

He looked around the room. It was only the morning after the attack and there were already flowers and cards from friends saying to 'get well soon'. Amy was in a hospital bed with an IV attached to her. A heart monitor beeped rhythmically, though there were times when the rhythm was broken.

Shadow sat down in a chair beside her bed. _How could Rouge do this? Why did she do this? _Those were the thoughts that kept echoing in his mind. _I trusted her. She was my partner. She was my... friend._ He was so confused. He hated being confused. And he hated seeing his Rose in this state.

He took her hand and stroked the back of it. "Rose, I don't know if you can hear me, but I promise you this. I will not stop until Rouge is brought to justice." And with that, he kissed her forehead and left the room. He had to find Rouge. He had to fulfill his promise to Amy. _That bat will die. _

**(Rouge's POV) **

_A young white bat was walking home from school. She skipped down the road. She had just finished her first day of first grade and she couldn't wait to tell her mother all about it. When she was just about there, she slowed down. She could hear something, but what was it? As she got closer to where the sound was coming from, she began to smell something too. Smoke! _

_She ran toward the place the smoke was coming from and stopped dead in her tracks. The smoke was coming from her house! It was on fire!_

_There was a large crowd gathered around the burning house. Firetrucks and an ambulance flashed their lights as men with hoses doused the house with water. She saw another bat girl sitting on the back of an ambulance. It looked like she was crying. She ran to her. "What's happening! Where's Mama?" _

_The girl looked up at her with tears streaming down her face. "R-Rouge, we're or-orphans."_

Rouge woke with a start. She looked around, at first confused. Then she remembered last night. She remembered the fight with Shadow. His accusations. Her flight to Angel Island. Knuckles.

Morning light was shining through the window above her. She lifted the blanket off of her and hung her legs over the side of the bed. Her left leg still hurt a lot. Not that she would admit that to anyone. _Well, I don't think it's broken. But if it had been hit any harder against that bookcase then it would be. _

Rouge planted her feet on the floor and started to get herself up. She groaned from the pain of putting weight on her leg, but kept on pushing anyway. _I'm not gonna let that Knucklehead think I'm weak. _

She heard sounds coming from outside her room. It sounded like clanking metal. Curious, she walked as steadily as she could out of the room and stopped in the doorway to the room across from Knuckles' bedroom.

Knuckles was bench pressing (Or whatever you call it). She could see his muscles flex as he lifted and lowered the bar. He had a look of concentration and determination. She just now noticed that, over the years, he had only gotten stronger and better looking. She could clearly make out a six pack. And his muscles were pretty built too. _Wow, he's hot when he works out. WAIT, WHAT! _

She walked out into the hall and slapped herself. _Pull yourself together Rouge! What the _heck_ are you thinking! _"So you finally decided to wake up." A voice from behind her said. She turned around and there was Knuckles, wiping some sweat from his forehead. 

"Does it look like I'm sleeping?" She said back. "We need to talk. Now." She saw this coming.

They walked downstairs and he motioned for her to take a seat on the couch. She did so, happy to get off of her leg. She didn't let this emotion play out on her face though. She crossed her legs. She didn't like being in front of anyone, especially Knuckles, in her night gown. But, of course, it's not like she could just go back to her apartment and grab an outfit. And she highly doubted that Knuckles would have anything for her to wear.

Knuckles stood a couple feet away from her. "Explain what's going on." He said. "Why should I?" She responded. "Why should you? What do you mean why should you!? You came to me Batgirl! I am harboring a criminal and I want to know why! I could get arrested and locked up for even having you on my island! So tell me what the heck is going on!" He shouted.

Rouge knew that he was right. She didn't have a choice. She explained to Knuckles how Shadow had barged into her apartment and attacked her, accusing her of nearly killing Amy. She told Knuckles how Sonic had seen a bat fly away from the scene and how the police had found her lipstick at the scene of the crime. "I didn't attack Amy. I swear it. That lipstick could have been stolen and planted to frame me, since that particular stick has been missing for a few days. As for the finger prints, any criminal worth their salt could have gotten a hold of my finger prints and planted them as well." She said.

"So you really didn't do it?" Knuckles asked. By now, Rouge was starting to get frustrated. _Why won't he just listen to me! _"Yes I really didn't do it. How many times do I have to say it?"

Looking at him, she could tell he still wasn't 100% convinced.

That's when they heard a knocking at the door.

**(Knuckles' POV)**

"Knuckles, I know you're in there. Answer the door." Knuckles knew that voice all too well. He looked over at Rouge. Her eyes had grown wide and she didn't dare move or make a sound. "Go upstairs and don't make a sound." He whispered. She nodded and made her way upstairs as quietly as she could.

"Knuckles, answer the door." The voice called again.

"I'm comin'! Hold your horses!" Knuckles called back. He walked over to the door and opened it. Shadow walked right on in.

"I never said you could come in." Knuckles grumbled. "I never said I cared." Shadow said back. _Well he's as cheery as ever. _

"Mind telling me why you're here?" Knuckles asked. Shadow crossed his arms. "Have you seen the news yet?" Shadow asked. "I haven't watched TV for a few days." Knuckles lied.

"Well then I guess you didn't hear about the attack on Amy." Shadow said with anger evident in his voice. Knuckles had heard about it, but he had to pretend he hadn't. He widened his eyes and acted as if this was news to him. "Attack? What the... who would attack Amy? Is she alright?" "No she's not alright! She's nearly dead!" Knuckles could tell Shadow was very upset. _With good reason. _

"Well, then why did you come here? You don't think I did it do you?" Knuckles asked. "No. You didn't do it. Rouge did." Shadow hissed out the last two words.

Knuckles let himself look completely shocked at these words. "A-are you sure? Why the heck would Rouge do it?" Shadow looked at him suspicious. "Did she come here Knuckles? I heard word that someone saw her heading toward Angel Island last night." Shadow said. _Oh crap. _"No she didn't come here. At least, I haven't seen her." Knuckles lied again. He could tell he was starting to break into a sweat. _That doesn't help. _

"Are you so sure Knuckles?" Shadow pressed. Knuckles got defensive. "Are you accusing me of harboring a criminal?!" Knuckles asked. "Are you?" Shadow asked. "No I'm not! I haven't seen Rouge alright! I haven't seen her for two whole years! Why would she come to me for help anyway?"

"Well you do have a thing for her." Shadow said. Now Knuckles was really getting ticked. "I do not have a thing for Rouge! How many times do I have to tell you people!" Knuckles was fuming. "Get out of my house Shadow. That Batgirl isn't on Angel Island." Knuckles said through clenched teeth.

Shadow fixed a hard and suspicious glare on Knuckles. The red echidna just glared back. "If you do see her, let me know." Shadow said before walking out the door. Knuckles let out a sigh of relief. Once he was absolutely sure that Shadow was long gone, he called Rouge down.

"That was too close." She commented. "He might have left, but he is suspicious of me. You can't stay here Rouge." Knuckles said. _Where could she go... _"Well, I guess I'll be heading off then." She said. He watched as she slowly made her way to the door. She may have looked determined and tough, but he knew that she was still in pain. He saw it in her limp.

_Can I really just abandon her at a time like this? She's not gonna last long out there with everyone looking for her. Definitely not in that condition._ _Hmm... _

"You don't have to go with nothing." he suddenly found himself saying. She looked up at him. "I can supply you." He said. "You don't have to do that Knuckie." She said. "One: Don't call me Knuckie, and two: I know I don't have to but that doesn't mean I can't." He walked over to the kitchen. She cautiously followed behind. "You're gonna be on the run, so you need supplies. Stuff like food, blankets, you know."

He looked back toward her. She looked unsure about this. He could tell she didn't want to take his charity. She didn't have a choice in the matter though.

He opened his cupboards and started setting some food out on the table. "There's a spare blanket and a back-pack in the bedroom closet. Go grab them." Knuckles ordered. She hesitated, then went to get the items.

Knuckles added a spare box of matches and a spare can opener to the pile. _Am I really doing this? I don't really think Rouge did it, but what if she did? No. No she didn't do it... right?_

It didn't take long for Rouge to come back downstairs. She was stuffing the blanket into the back-pack as she walked into the kitchen. She set the back-pack on the table and Knuckles proceeded to stuffing it with cans of food, packs of dried fruit, and other items.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked. _Why am I doing this? _

He stopped working and looked at her. He really got a good look at her. Without her makeup and cat suit, she looked different. She hadn't changed much in the last couple years. She had let her hair grow down past her shoulders. She was still very, well, shapely. She was beautiful. _Don't even go down that road Knuckles. _

"I guess I'm doing it because, I feel that I should." Knuckles said. _Yeah that sounds right. _"You know how stubborn I am Batgirl." He added with a smirk. That earned a smirk from her in return. "Stubborn is an understatement." She said. He rolled his eyes and finished with the packing.

He handed the pack to her. "Looks like you're all set. Sorry I don't have any clothes to lend you." He said. "It's fine. I'll figure something out." She said.

She walked out of the kitchen and made her way to the door. She stopped just before she exited, turning her head toward the guardian she was leaving behind. "Hey Knux?" "Yeah?" "Thanks." He nodded. Then she walked out the door.

He walked over to the doorway and watched as she pulled the back-pack onto her back, somehow getting it around her wings. She spread said wings out and got ready to fly away.

Of course, it wasn't going to be as easy as that. Not since a certain black and angry hedgehog, who hadn't yet left the island, jumped out at her just as she was about to leave.

**(And there's chapter four! Hope you liked it! Please leave a review and tell me what you thought! Till next time...) **


	5. Escaping Angel Island

**(Hey guys I'm back! I had some writers block with this chapter but here it is! And to reply to your reviews!**

**Usagi300: I can finally spell your name without looking XD! I'm not cruel enough to kill Rouge! I love Rouge! AND NOT LIKE THAT! I'm not a lesbo XD I don't know how that cam up O.o. Anyway...**

**Bearvalley3365: I'm so glad you enjoy my story! -Gives you cyber cookie- And OK I'll keep writing how I am. :).**

**Elegant Solace: Yeah I'm trying really hard to improve my writing I'm glad you're noticing. And yes I will try to make sure I do that thanks for the advice. And Shadow is way to smart for Knuckles to trick. **

**MrRittercorn: Thanks I will :). And yes thank you for the advice as well. **

**Stormsong7: Wow thanks! I try to make my story original as possible. Well I didn't try that hard with the Shadamy part but I'm trying hard with the rest XD. Oh and are you a Warrior Cats fan? I am! I'm just guessing cause of your name. If not and you have no idea what I'm blabbing about then just ignore my randomness lol.**

**Now that I'm done with that, here's chapter 5 comin at cha...)**

**Hunted...**

**Escaping Angel Island...**

**(Rouge's POV)**

She suddenly felt something hard and powerful slam into her back just as she was taking off. She fell forward onto the ground and soon felt a foot pushing down on the back of her neck, holding her down.

"Did you really think you could get away that easily, bat?" A cold, angry voice asked. She knew that voice. It was a voice of someone who had once been her good friend. The voice of someone she had shared many missions with. It was the voice of Shadow.

Just to make sure she was right, she moved her head to the side a little and looked up. Red eyes drilled into her blue. They were filled with anger, hatred and... pain. He was hurt. He was really hurt.

Another voice was heard. "Shadow! Let her go!" _That Knucklehead is gonna get himself killed!_ Rouge thought as Knuckles walked toward them. He stopped a few feet away when Shadow growled at him.

"You lied to me. For her? Did you really believe her lies Knuckles? You always were gullible." Shadow sneered.

"Maybe you should open your ears and listen to her." Knuckles said in her defense. _Why is he defending me? Does he not care if he lives or not? He's crazy! _

"I don't need to listen to her lies. I have seen the proof." Shadow said, voice full of rage.

"Proof? How do you even know that your so called 'proof' is really proof? How do you know It wasn't just planted there to frame her?" Knuckles asked.

Rouge finally voiced her thoughts. "Knuckles just stop. You don't need to get yourself into this more then you already have." She felt Shadow's foot push harder against her neck and she couldn't help but whimper in pain. She felt so ashamed to be reduced to that far of a low.

"Don't talk Rouge. You lost that privilege when you attacked Rose." Shadow said.

Shadow moved his foot from her neck and kicked her in the gut, causing her to double over in pain.

**(Shadow's POV)**

"THAT'S IT!" He heard Knuckles yell. He looked up just in time to see the crimson guardian running at him with a spiked fist extended. Shadow dodged the punch just in time and kicked Knuckles in the back as he passed. The echidna had to pick himself up off the ground.

"I didn't want to fight you Knuckles. But now, I've changed my mind." Shadow said.

"Bring it on." Knuckles challenged. _This should be interesting. _

They just circled each other at first. Neither of them were willing to make the first move. But, of course, one of them had to.

Shadow used his speed to get right in front of Knuckles and start landing blow after speedy blow all over the echidna's body.

Getting fed up with this fast, Knuckles somehow caught one of Shadow's advancing fists before it could reach it's target. Knuckles used his other fist to punch shadow square in the jaw. The punch was so powerful it sent Shadow backwards, though he was able to keep on his feet.

Knuckles took this chance to land an attack of his own. He ran at Shadow, grabbed his arm, and threw him at a tree. Before the ebony hedgehog could hit the tree, he got into a ball and spun. Instead of hitting the tree, he sawed right through it.

Shadow landed on his feet. "Nice try Knucklehead." Shadow said. He could almost see the smoke coming out of Knuckles ears.

"You think I'm a Knucklehead?! You think I'm gullible?! Look at yourself Shadow!" Knuckles yelled.

"Hmph, think what you want." With this, Shadow got into a spin dash and launched himself at Knuckles. Knuckles dodged the attack, causing Shadow to crash into the ground. Shadow got up and brushed the dirt off of his fur.

Knuckles ran at him and Shadow suddenly found himself on the ground. Knuckles was throwing punches at his face. A couple of the punches hit their mark before Shadow kicked Knuckles off of him.

Shadow wiped his hand across his mouth and looked at his hand. His glove had a red smear on it. _Blood? OK now he's really gonna get it. _

He walked slowly toward Knuckles. "You're really getting on my nerves Knuckles. So I'm going to end this quickly."

He brought out his chaos emerald and lifted it up. "Chaos Bla-" He was cut off when the Chaos Emerald was suddenly knocked from his hand. Rouge had kicked it! Shadow watched the Emerald soar through the air. He ran after it and was back in seconds. _That bat. _

Both Knuckles and Rouge were nowhere to be seen. _They couldn't have gotten far. _He heard sounds coming from his right, so he ran in that direction.

**(Knuckle's POV)**

"Hurry up Rouge!" Knuckles called. They were running. Running for their lives. If they could make it to the edge of the island before Shadow found them, they could get away. Of course they were running from The Ultimate Life Form. Easier said then done.

Knuckles looked to his right just in time to see Rouge trip and fall. He stopped, ran over to her, and helped her up.

"C'mon, we're never gonna make it at this rate." He said.

Knuckles suddenly found himself being lifted into the air.

"I'll get us out of here." Rouge said as she flew higher into the air with Knuckles in tow.

Knuckles watched as they got further and further from the ground. Then he saw Shadow appear at the very spot they had just left.

"If you're gonna get us out of here then you better hurry up." Knuckles urged.

Knuckles saw Shadow look up. _Crap, he sees us. _

Knuckles saw Shadow's Chaos Emerald glowing. He heard Shadow shout something and then a bolt of Chaos energy was flying towards them.

"Rouge!" Knuckles yelled.

"I see it!" She yelled back. She flew to the side and narrowly dodged the attack.

These bolts kept coming and coming, with Rouge dodging them the best she could. They eventually got out of Shadow's range, though not before Shadow nearly fried them both. Knuckles let out a sigh of relief.

He looked up at the white bat that was holding him. She looked down at him.

"Looks like we're in this together now." Rouge said.

"Looks like it." Knuckles responded.

**(OK there's chapter five! Hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm not that good with action scenes but I try. Till next time...) **


	6. Further plans

**(Hey guys I'm really sorry about the late update. Like I said in my other story I was very busy over the last week. **

**Bearvalley3365: Thanks! I hope that I'll be able to make my actions scenes better as I keep writing, but I'm glad you liked it :).**

**MrRittercorn: I will keep all that you said in mind. Yes I know that Knuckles is very capable in battle and so does Rouge. You will see why I had her worry about him later on. And it's OK to ramble. Awesome people ramble XD.**

**Krispina The Derp: Very good guess. You will just have to wait and see :P.**

**Disclaimer: No of course I do not own Sonic and the others. Anybody who thinks that clearly doesn't get out much. At all.**

**Here's chapter 6 comin at cha...)**

**Hunted...**

**Further plans... **

**(Rouge's POV)**

They had been flying for what seemed like a couple hours. Her wings were giving out. She knew that if she didn't land soon, she would probably just fall right out of the sky. This trip would have been easier if it had just been her. But it wasn't just her. She was carrying Knuckles.

He was pretty light and all, which kinda surprised her, but it was very tiring on her arms and wings to carry him for so long.

They were over a forest. There was a town not too far off in the distance. She could just land in the forest and have them walk from there, or she could tough it out until they got closer to the town. But should they even go to there?

"Hey Knuckie, brace yourself. We're about to land." She warned. She stopped in the air and started to descend into the trees below. She kept on her downward path until her feet touched the ground. She quickly let go of Knuckles.

She shook her aching arms, trying to shake off the aching. It didn't work of course. Normally she would complain or crack some joke about Knuckles being fat or something, but after what happened, she didn't think she should.

_Why did he do all that for me? Why did he let me stay last night instead of calling the cops? Why did he lie to Shadow to cover for me? Why did he give me those supplies? Why did he fight Shadow in my defense?_

She just didn't know what to think. He had done so much for her and it hadn't even been a whole day yet! He's put himself on the bad side of not only Shadow, but probably everyone else as well.

She looked over at him. He was scanning the area they had stopped at, making sure it was clear.

Another question popped into her mind. _Why did I worry about Knuckles so much when he was fighting Shadow? I know he's a good fighter. One of the best. So why was I so worried?_

**(Knuckles POV)**

Knuckles looked over at Rouge. She was just standing there with a distant look on her face. Like she was deep in thought. _Well she does have a lot to think about. _He thought to himself.

He had finished checking out the area. He walked over to Rouge, who didn't seem to notice. He waved his hand in front of her face.

"Hello? Mobius to Batgirl. Anybody home?" He said. She immediately snapped out of her daze.

"You alright?" Knuckles asked.

"Of course I'm alright. Why wouldn't I be?" She asked.

"Well you just flew for two hours, towing me along with you. And you got attacked by Shadow. Don't tell me you're perfectly fine after that." Knuckles pointed out.

She scoffed. "What, do you think I'm weak or something? You think I can't handle myself? Well I can!" She snapped, suddenly angry.

"I never said that you couldn't! All I did was ask if you're OK and you just go off on me!" He shouted, lifting his arms into the air and dropping them back to his sides. _What is her problem?! _

"Oh are you worried about me? Well don't be." She said. She shoved past him and started walking away.

For a few seconds, he just stood there steaming. _That Batgirl's got a lot of nerve. _He thought.

He started walking after her.

"If you can handle yourself so well, then why did you come to my doorstep looking like you got ran over?" He asked.

She stopped and whirled around to face him, giving him a death glare. He glared right back. He knew he had got her there. He could tell that she knew it too.

"I don't need to hear this from you." She said. She started walking off again. She wasn't able to walk very fast, because of her limp, so it was pretty easy for Knuckles to keep up with her.

Neither of them said a word or looked at each other. They just kept walking, their gazes looked forward. _That bat thinks she's all that. Well she's not! Does she think I helped her because I had to? Is she not grateful at all?! _His anger only got worse as he kept on thinking.

He stopped suddenly and grabbed her by the arm, stopping her as well. He started yelling.

"What is wrong with you Batgirl! Do you not even care that I'm putting my own butt on the Line for you!? Do you not even care that I could be put in jail for life and I didn't even do anything!? I don't even know for sure that you're telling me the truth, and I'm still helping you anyway! DO YOU EVEN CARE!?" He shouted at her in anger.

She pulled her arm out of his grip.

"You think I don't care? Of course I care! If you're so worried about going to jail, then why are you even doing this!? I was going to leave last night. I would have been out of your hair. But _you _had _me _stay!" She shouted.

Knuckles couldn't say anything. She was right. He did stop her from leaving.

"Why did you stop me?" She asked, no longer with a tine of anger, but a tone of curiosity.

"I never wanted you to go." He blurted out without thinking. He quickly blushed in embarrassment of what he had just said. _Why did I say that? Was it true? Well... maybe... it kinda is... _

**(Rouge's POV)**

"I, uh... well, I kinda uh..." Knuckles stuttered. The red echidna put his mitted hand up to the back of his neck and looked away, skin competing with his fur, color wise.

Rouge didn't know what to say. _He never wanted me to go? I never visited him over these last two years because I thought he didn't like me. Now he's saying he never wanted me to go? Does that mean... oh I shouldn't flatter myself so. Of course he doesn't... does he? Do I? _

"You wanted me to visit you?" She asked slowly and cautiously. Amethyst eyes met teal.

He hesitated before he spoke, but did none the less.

"Well yeah. Why wouldn't I?" With this he started walking off again, ending the conversation. She watched him walk for a few seconds before she followed after him.

**(Unknown POV)**

"Why didn't you finish the job!" The angry man yelled. She just rolled her eyes at him. He continued.

"You could have killed her and gotten her out of the way! Now she might wake up and squeal!" He exasperated. She finally spoke up.

"Oh calm down. You might give yourself a heart attack." She said dismissively.

"Then answer me. Why didn't you finish the job?" He asked.

"Because I have further plans for her." She said darkly with an evil smile.

**(And there's the sixth chapter! Hope you enjoyed that :). Can anyone guess who the mystery people are. I doubt you will. Well, maybe one of them. Till next time...) **


	7. You've got to be kidding me

**(-Hides behind bullet proof shield- Hold your fire! I know I know, I haven't updated in like two weeks. But I have a good reason! The power cord to my laptop just stopped working so I couldn't charge it. It wouldn't even turn on. But now I have a new power cord and I'm back in action. :). **

**Crazyshine: Cream and Vector? Really? XD ha ha.**

**Krispina The Derp: I'm glad you like the plot. That's probably the most important part.**

**MrRittercorn: Yeah I know OCs aren't always that popular. I like OCs but not everybody does. Thank you for your opinion and I'm glad I'm able to do good with Knuckle's and Rouge's character :).**

**Disclaimer: Check back to the last chapter. And the one before that. And the one before that...**

**Here's chapter 7 comin at cha...)**

**Hunted...**

**You've got to be kidding me… **

**(Rouge's POV)**

She poked her head around the side of the house. They were on the edge of town.

"So, how are we supposed to get you clothes without drawing any attention if it's the middle of the afternoon and you're in nothing but a small, pink nightgown?" Knuckles asked with his arms crossed.

"I'm working on it." Rouge responded.

She looked around at the other houses. This looked like a run down neighborhood. A lot of the houses were boarded up. The ones that weren't abandoned weren't really much to look at.

The only people she saw were a couple women sitting on a porch talking loudly. Then she spotted something. When the two women weren't looking, she made a run for it. Knuckles, caught off guard, ran after her.

They made it to the house on the other side of the street without being noticed. Rouge walked into the backyard and toward her target.

"You have got to be kidding me." Knuckles said. Rouge turned her head toward him.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures." She said.

"But stealing clothes from some random person's back yard?" He exclaimed. She chuckled.

"I've done worse things, trust me." She said. She reached for a pair of jeans and a plain black tank top that were hanging on a clothes line.

She looked at the pants. _Well, jeans aren't my favorite thing to wear, but it's better then nothing. _She thought to herself. _And I'll have to cut slits in the back of the shirt for my wings. _

She walked over to a corner of the house were she would be more concealed. She heard footsteps shuffling behind her.

"A little privacy Knuckie?" She said as she twirled her finger, signaling him to turn around.

"Oh, right." He muttered, closing his eyes and doing as she said.

**(Knuckles' POV)**

He stood there with his eyes closed as Rouge changed. He still didn't like the idea of stealing clothes. Of course he didn't like the idea of stealing at all.

But what could he do? He was in the presence of an ex jewel thief. To her, this was child's play.

"It's safe." He heard her say after a few minutes. He opened his eyes.

She was already standing beside the clothes line looking at a couple hoodies. He just couldn't help but notice how well the jeans fit her and how good she looked in them. He ended up catching himself staring and quickly looked away with a blush on his face. Rouge started turning around.

"These hoodies will be perfect for..." The white bat trailed off. She had a question written in her expression.

"Knuckles, why are you blushing?" She asked coyly. This only made his blush worse as he remembered what he had just been doing.

"Uh... well... I uh... have a sunburn?" He lied. Well, tried to lie. She only laughed.

"OK don't tell me. I probably don't want to know anyway." She said dismissively. He sighed in relief.

She walked toward him holding the two black hoodies she had been looking at before. She handed one to him along with a pair of gray sweat pants.

"These will be good for hiding our identities." She said.

"I'm not wearing stolen clothes." Knuckles said. She just looked at him. He could tell from the way she was looking at him that she would only force the clothes onto him if he refused. The crimson guardian sighed.

"Whatever." He said. He slipped the clothes on. Once she saw that he had obeyed, she grabbed a pocket knife from the backpack, cut slits in the back of her hoody for her wings, then slipped it on.

Knuckles felt kinda weird wearing clothes. He wasn't used to it. Plus the pants weren't exactly a perfect fit. He kept trying to adjust them to make it more comfortable, but it didn't work very well.

"Do I have to wear these?" He asked.

"Oh stop being a baby you knucklehead. Now let's go." Rouge commanded.

"Yes mother." He grumbled under his breath.

"You know I have very good hearing right?" She asked.

_Oops. Forgot about that. _He thought as he did a mental face palm.

They walked out of the back yard with their hoods up and started walking down the road side by side.

**(Sorry again for that late update and for how bad I've been with it lately. And yes I realize that I've done that whole stealing clothes from a clothes line thing in a different story, but it just fit.**

**Till next time...) **


	8. Vicitm 2

**(Hello again :). It's you're favorite musical kitty kat with another chapter :D. (For those of you who don't know, an ocelot is a kind of cat that lives in the wild.) onto reviews! Not many today :(.**

**werewolf lover99/Beary: I'm glad you think so :). Maybe I should have made humor one of the genres... **

**Elegant Solace: -Hugs you- glad you're back! I think in my stories I'm just gonna have all the boys except for original Sonic characters wear clothes. Unless of course that character originally wears close. So that way Knuckles would not stick out and would be hidden by his hood and stuff... so yeah. About who set Rouge up, you will see in due time.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Knuckles, Rouge, Shadow, Sonic, or any other character you recognize from the Sonic franchise. No duh...**

**Here's chapter eight comin at cha...)**

**Hunted...**

**Victim # 2...**

**(Sonic's POV)**

_I can't believe this happened. _He thought gloomily as he sat in the chair beside her bed. He watched as she breathed rhythmically in her sleep. Her breathing hitched for a moment, then went back to it's steady pace.

_I never did apologize to her. Man I was such a jerk. Why did I even say those things? _He closed his eyes and lowered his head. He was feeling so many things at the moment. Worry, fear, anger... guilt.

_If I had only gotten there sooner..._ Sonic looked up at Amy's sleeping form.

"I'm sorry Ames." He said. Then he got up and left the room. He walked out to the main lobby. His girlfriend was there waiting for him.

"Are you alright Sonic?" She asked. Sonic looked into her deep blue, worry filled eyes. Saying that he was would be a lie, but he didn't want her fussing over him. He let out a sigh.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked her.

"Yes." She responded. Sonic hesitated, then spoke.

"Is this my fault?" the cobalt hero asked. His girlfriend pulled him into a hug.

"Oh Sonic, of course not. Why would you think that?" She asked. He accepted the warm embrace, hugging her close.

"It's just... well... if I had gotten there sooner, then maybe I could have stopped Rouge." He said. She pulled away, but only enough for them to be looking eye to eye.

"Sonic, listen to me. You didn't know this was going to happen. Nobody did. How could we?" She said.

"Blaming yourself will only bring you down more. Amy is a strong girl. She's a fighter. She'll make it. None of this is your fault, got it?" She asked.

There was a moment of silence. Both of them just stood there looking at each other as she awaited his response.

_I guess she's right. _Sonic thought.

"Got it, Sal." Sonic said. A small smile came to her lips.

"Good." Sally said.

Sonic gave her a quick kiss and then picked the chipmunk princess up bridal style.

"I better take you home." He said. With that he rushed out of the hospital.

He ran down several roads and turned a bunch of corners until they finally reached her house.

"Call me later." Sonic said.

"I will. Bye." Sally said back. With that, Sonic sped off.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Sonic was just a couple streets away from the house that he shared with his best bud, Tails. He decided to walk the rest of the way, just to clear his head.

_If Amy doesn't make it through this, I'll... well... I don't know what I'll do. I'll probably kill Rouge. _Sonic thought darkly.

He heard a noise. He stopped in his tracks and whipped his head to the right. It was coming from the alley beside him.

Sonic listened and he was pretty sure he heard crying. _Who could that be? _He wondered.

_Maybe I should check it out... _Sonic slowly walked down the small alley, looking for the source of the sound. As he got closer and closer, it only got louder and louder.

Suddenly, the crying stopped. Sonic didn't move a muscle. _Is my mind playing tricks with me or something? _

Sonic heard the sound of running footsteps and looked to his right. He was just able to make out the shape of the person before he was kicked in the head.

His vision was blurry and slow and all the sounds that came through his ears were muffled. It was as if someone had stuffed his ears with tissues, spun him around till he was super dizzy, then put the world in slow motion.

Sonic tried to get up and fight back, but he was stopped by a boot to the face.

**(Shadow's POV)**

Shadow was, again, at the scene of the crime. He was standing in the same place that Amy was attacked in. Where she was nearly killed by the one person he always thought he could trust the most. He had come here several times already, just to check the place out himself. See if he could find any helpful evidence. Something. He couldn't find a dang thing.

His phone suddenly started to ring. He answered it without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?" He greeted.

"Shadow? It's Sally." Said the voice on the other side. _Why would she be calling me? _

"What is it?" Shadow asked, kind of annoyed.

"I was just wondering... have you seen Sonic today?" She asked hopefully.

"No. Why do ask?" Shadow answered with a question. Now he was curious. For a few moments, there was nothing but silence on the other end, but Shadow soon heard a sigh from the princess.

"You see, Sonic dropped me off at my house after we went to the hospital to visit Amy. He told me to call him and then he headed for home." She paused after saying all this, then continued.

"That was yesterday. I've called and called and he hasn't answered me. I even went over to Sonic and Tails' house, and Tails told me that he hasn't seen Sonic since yesterday. I've called everybody, but nobody seems to know where he is. I-I'm worried about him Shadow." She explained. Her voice cracked as she said that last sentence.

Shadow wasn't sure what to think about this. _Faker couldn't have just disappeared... _

"Shadow, could you, maybe, help me look for him?" She asked. This caught him off guard.

_Should I agree, or just hang up now? Why would I even want to look for Faker anyway? He's probably just off somewhere being an idiot. Maybe he just ate so many chili dogs that he passed out somewhere or something._

"Meet me at Sonic's house." Shadow said, then hung up.

"Wait, what?" He said out loud. _Did I just agree to help Sally search for Sonic? Oh boy. Why did I do that? _

He growled under his breath, then sped off toward Sonic's house. _What have I gotten myself into... _

OoOoOoOoOoO

Shadow arrived at Sonic's house to find Sally standing outside waiting for him.

"Thank you so much for this Shadow." Sally said.

"Let's just get this over with." Shadow said.

Sally started walking and Shadow followed behind.

"This is the way Sonic usually goes when he comes home from my house. I thought we could start by going this way." Sally said.

They walked down the road, passing several buildings, alleys, and streets as they went.

"Sally, you think that maybe we should check these alleys?" Shadow asked. She turned around.

"I guess..." She said. She looked at him confused, but then turned and started walking down the closest alley. Shadow walked a little further down and turned into a different alley.

He looked around at his surroundings as he walked. He didn't get very far before he heard a scream. He was at the entrance to the alley Sally had went down in seconds. He ran in.

"Sally? What did you..." Shadow trailed off. The scene in front of him had him speechless.

Sally was crying as she cradled a broken, bleeding, and bruised Sonic in her arms.

Shadow suddenly found himself very angry. He wasn't sure why. Maybe because this reminded him of what happened to Amy? Maybe because it just bothered him that someone he at least remotely thought of as a friend was in such a state? He didn't know the reason, but that didn't matter. He was way past ticked.

**(Yes, I have added Sonally into the mix. I'm sorry to those who don't like this pairing, but Amy is taken, so... yeah. I kinda like Sonally anyway.**

**I meant to put this chapter up yesterday, but I ended up spraining my ankle at my freestyle class. If that has never happened to you, trust me when I say you don't want it to. Till next time...) **


	9. Old habits

**(Here I am again! I'm running out of things to say for these intros. So I'll just start saying something random. The first random thing to pop into my mind. Wait for it... wait for it... Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Spongebob Squarepants! Absorbent and yellow and porous is he! Spongebob Squarepants! XD Crazyshine got me thinking of Spongebob he he. **

**Aliciathewolf45: Yep. Now Sonic is down for the count too. Aren't I so cruel?**

**Werewolf lover99/Beary: Yay! I'm glad you liked it. And it was actually a pretty minor injury. Probably my biggest problem is staying on my butt. Usually my mom nags me about getting off my butt and doing things. Now she nags me about staying on my butt and not doing things XD.**

**Endermagic979: OK... I guess I don't have much to say to you except thanks and I will :).**

**Crazyshine: Same here. Too many stories portray Sally as a slutty jerk and a butt. That's the censored version XD. **

**Disclaimer: I don't even care right now...**

**Here's chapter 9 comin at cha...**

**Hunted...**

**Old habits…**

**(Rouge's POV)**

She woke up and stretched, yawning. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she sat up, and then found herself falling. She was able to stop herself from hitting the ground by quickly opening her wings and flapping. She flew back up to the tree branch she had just fallen from.

Last night they had decided to not take any chances with a motel and just crashed in a tree in the middle of a park. She looked over to her right and down a little to see that Knuckles hadn't woken up yet. She decided to have some fun.

Rouge snapped a twig off of a nearby branch and threw it at Knuckles' head. He quickly snapped his eyes open and jumped.

"Ahhh!" He yelled as he fell to the hard ground. Rouge couldn't help it. She just busted out laughing.

"Wow Knuckie. You are such a klutz." She said.

"Yeah, ha ha ha. So funny" He said sarcastically as he lifted himself to his feet.

Rouge flew down to the ground.

"Let's get out of here. Somebody might have heard you scream like a little girl." Rouge said.

"I did not scream like a girl!" Knuckles shouted.

"Someone probably heard that too." Rouge pointed out. Knuckles looked about ready to blow up. Rouge just turned and started walking with an evident smirk still on her face.

**(Knuckles POV)**

Knuckles rubbed his elbow. Rouge might have gotten a kick out of him falling out of a tree, but he sure didn't. Now he felt like shoving _her_ out of a tree. But right now, his top priority was breakfast. Of course, they didn't have that food that Knuckles had packed.

**-Flashback- **

"Hey Knuckie, can you carry the backpack now?" Rouge asked.

Knuckles was a little ticked by her calling him 'Knuckie', but he took the backpack none the less.

"Thanks. My shoulders are sore." She said.

Knuckles put his arms through the handles and hiked the backpack onto his shoulders.

They were walking through a mall, not really headed anywhere. They had no clue where they should go, they just wanted to stay unnoticed and keep a low profile. Then Rouge saw something that caught her eye.

She ran up to the storefront window with eyes bulging wide. Laying in front of her was a display of beautiful gems and jewelry.

"Oh no you don't Batgirl. Aren't you in enough trouble already?" Knuckles said. He was about to grab her by the arm and drag her away when she suddenly ran into the store. Knuckles groaned inwardly.

Knuckles took off the backpack, set it down against the building, then walked in after her. He didn't need her filling the backpack with stolen jewelry.

It didn't take long for him to find the ivory bat. She was looking at some necklaces in a glass case.

"Let's get out of here Rouge." He said quietly.

"It's not like we have anywhere to go. I just want to look." Rouge said back.

Knuckles watched as she moved on to another glass case full of rings. _Why does she have to be so stubborn? _He thought.

He was on his way out the door when he heard something. He looked over toward the noise and saw that there was a TV hanging up on the wall. The cashier and a few shoppers were watching it. This is what was playing.

_Good afternoon. Today we bring you an update on the 'Rogue Agent' case. It appears that Rouge the Bat has found an accomplice in Knuckles the Echidna. Both are wanted and should be thought of as dangerous. If you see either of these wanted criminals contact the authorities immediately. _

Knuckles backed away slowly toward the door. He was just about to step out when...

"Get your grimy hands off me!"

_Oh great._ He thought as he turned around. He saw Rouge being dragged to the front by a security guard. She was holding a necklace. Thankfully, her hood was still up so that nobody could see her face.

Knuckles, unsure of what to do, blended into the crowd that was gathering around the front desk.

"I'm calling the police." Said the human security guard. _Crap. Just what we need. _

Rouge suddenly pulled back really hard and was able to get her arm free, but it also caused her hood to drop. The whole crowd gasped, recognizing her instantly.

Knuckles ran up, grabbed Rouge by the arm, and ran out of the store.

"And why did you think that that was a good idea?" Knuckles asked.

"Old habits die hard." Rouge said back.

Security guards chased after them as they ran out of the mall, hoping to not be there when the cops arrived. Of course they forgot to grab the backpack.

**(-End of Flashback-)**

Knuckles had, wisely, kept some money in his glove, so Knuckles decided to stop at a McDonalds to get something cheep to eat.

"Does it have to be McDonalds?" Rouge whined.

"Yes. Now hurry up and pick something so we can order and go." Knuckles snapped.

**(I know, short chapter. DEAL WITH IT! XD just messing with you. I had a lot of writers block with this one so sorry if it is crappy. I think it is XD. Till next time...)**


	10. Awake

**(Hey there guys and gals! **

**Me: What time is it?**

**Sonic: Adventure time!**

**Me: No silly-hog. It's time for chapter 10 of Hunted!**

**Sonic: Well sorrrrrry. Oh and by the way, WHY DID I GET BEAT UP!? **

**Me: Oh be happy I didn't kill you off. **

**Sonic: O.o**

**Anyway... on to the reviews!**

**Crazylady22: Aww, thanks! And I'm glad that you like my story :).**

**Werewolf lover99/Beary: Thanks. And yes, yes it does.**

**EnderMagic979: Once you start something, it's hard to stop. Like my terrible nail biting habit. Yeah it's bad...**

**SugerhogRose: He he yeah. I actually like McDonalds, but I didn't think Rouge would be a cheeseburger kind of person XD. Thanks :).**

**Crazyshine: I know what to do! Play Animal Crossing and watch Spongebob at the same time! No wait... then you would need two different TVs in the same room... OK never mind XD. Thanks :).**

**Kokiricat: I'm glad you like it :). Here's a chapter just for you :D.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own... -falls asleep-**

**-wakes up- Who what when where! Oh, well here's chapter 10 comin at cha...)**

**Hunted...**

**Awake…**

**(No POV)**

"Where is that echidna?" The woman asked with an angry tone of voice.

"Calm down will you? He'll be here." Said the human man sitting beside her.

"Well he doesn't have to be late." She snapped.

"I'm only a minute late, goodness." Said a voice from the doorway.

The echidna woman and the man snapped there heads toward the voice. In the doorway stood the echidna they were waiting for.

"About time." Said the female.

"He's here!" The male called.

Once he said this, a male hedgehog and a female fox entered the room. The two were arguing.

"I told you I could do it easy without help." The hedgehog bragged.

"You did too have help. Who do you think it was that lured him into the alley?" The vixen shot back.

"Would you two shut up?" The human bellowed, getting himself into the argument.

"Stick a sock in it Egghead! Can't I have a civil conversation with my girlfriend?" The hedgehog shouted.

"I'm so sorry for you Fiona." Eggman said, getting Fiona to roll her eyes.

The sound of someone clearing their throat is what got the attention of the three. They walked over to the table in the middle of the room and sat down. The two echidnas were already sitting.

"So Lien-Da, what's this all about?" The bat asked.

"Oh, I'm not the one who wanted this meeting_. _He is." Lien-Da said, pointing her finger at the albino echidna beside her.

"Finitevus, you can start now." She said. He nodded.

"As you all know, We have already 'taken care' of two of those pesky heroes. They will not stay taken care of though, since for some reason Lien-Da wanted them kept alive. Now is the time to enact phase two. It's time to confuse them." Finitevus explained.

"Can I do it?" The hedgehog asked.

"No Scourge. I'm sending the bat in for this one." Lien-Da said.

"What!?" Scourge exclaimed.

"Oh calm down. We do have a job for you and Fiona." Finitevus said.

**(Sonic's POV)**

He shot up into the sitting position, confused. Sonic groaned from the pain this action had caused. He slowly set himself back down.

"Sonic?" A worried voice asked. The cobalt hedgehog turned his head to the right to see Sally sitting at his bedside.

"Hey Sal." He greeted, giving her a pained smile.

"Sonic, what happened?" The chipmunk princess asked.

Sonic thought back to the events of the last day. He didn't remember much. He remembered being rolled into the hospital. He remembered being kicked in the head in that alley. He could remember..

"I remember someone laughing while they beat the crap out of me. It wasn't the funny ha ha kind of laughter. It was more like the evil, maniacal kind. I think I actually recognized it, but I didn't see who it was." Sonic said.

"That doesn't sound like Rouge. Or even Knuckles. I don't really think Knuckles would stoop that low, but he is in league with Rouge after all." Sally said.

Now that he thought about it, he started having doubts about Amy's attacker being Rouge in the first place. _Why would she do that? And if she did, then why would Knuckles help her? Amy is like a sister to him! This just doesn't make any sense..._

**(Amy's POV)**

In another room in the hospital, Amy Rose layed in her hospital bed. She had been comatose for days, endlessly trapped in a dream. Or more like a nightmare. Over and over again, that night replayed in her dreams...

_She was walking to her and Shadow's favorite little diner. Shadow had asked her to meet him there at 8:00 P.M. Sharp. She was late. Like, twenty five minutes late. He had said that he had a surprise for her. She couldn't wait to see what it was. She just hoped he wouldn't get tired of waiting and leave. Or maybe get worried about her since she was never late for a date._

_Suddenly, she found herself being pushed to the ground. She screamed as she hit the concrete. Looking up, she saw her attacker. **Who is that?** She thought to herself. _

"_Hello there Pink." The woman said. Amy looked at her and saw that she was a bat. From the light of the streetlamp, she could see that the bat was white. No, wait, not white. She was more gray. _

"_What do you want?" Amy asked, feeling frightened. _

"_Just to beat you to a pulp. Boss's orders" The mystery woman said. _

_Amy screamed as the woman sent a punch toward her face. It only took a few minutes of painful attacks for Amy to pass out. Her vision turned to black. _

_Next thing she knew, she was standing in a cemetery. She saw a group of people surrounding a grave. One of them threw a rose down on the grave, then they all left. _

_Once they were gone, she walked up to the grave and looked at the headstone. She was horrified by what she saw. Chiseled into the stone was the name Amy Rose. _

Her eyes snapped open. She immediately winced from the pain that she felt all over her body. But the pain wasn't all bad. It at least told her that she was still alive. She looked at her surroundings. She was in a hospital room. There were flowers, get-well-soon cards, and balloons all over the room.

Sitting in a chair, sleeping, was her boyfriend and the man she loved, Shadow the Hedgehog. She smiled at seeing him there. _Should I wake him up? _She wondered.

She didn't have to. His eyes fluttered open, then widened when he saw her awake and smiling at him.

"R-Rose? You're awake?" He asked. He looked as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Do I look like I'm sleeping?" She joked. This earned a smirk from the ebony hedgehog. He got up and walked over to her.

"How long have I been asleep?" The pink hedgehog asked.

"Three days." Shadow answered.

"Three days." Amy repeated, a little shocked that she had been out that long.

"Have you found the attacker?" Amy asked. Shadow seemed to tense up when she asked this. She gave him a concerned look.

"We haven't found her yet, but let me assure you, Rouge will be brought to justice." He said. This thoroughly confused Amy. _What is he talking about? _

Before she could speak, there was a sudden explosion.

**(Shadow's POV)**

It felt like the whole building was shaking. He could here the screams of Amy and many other people outside of the room. Pieces of the ceiling fell down and dust poured all over the room.

"The explosion must have been above us." Shadow guessed after the shaking stopped and the dust settled.

"I'll be right back Rose." Shadow said.

"Be careful Shadow." Amy said. Shadow nodded and zipped out of the room.

He took the nearby stairs and ran up to the next floor. He was there in seconds.

Looking around, it was utter chaos. People were running and screaming. At the end of the hall, fires were going and, from the destruction, that seemed to be where the bomb was set off at.

"Shadow!" A familiar voice called. He followed the voice to a door. A door that was blocked by debris. The small square of glass that used to be in the door was no longer there, enabling Shadow to see inside.

Inside were Sally and Sonic. Sally was at the door, trying to get it open.

"Shadow, what happened?" Sally asked.

"A bomb went off." Shadow answered. Sally's eyes widened in shock. She soon recovered from it.

"The door is stuck. Can you help me?" Sally asked.

"Stand back" Shadow ordered. He curled up into a ball and did a spin dash, destroying the debris and knocking the door off it's hinges.

Sally soon came out, acting as a crutch for Sonic.

"You two better get out of here." Shadow said.

"Who do you think did this?" Sonic asked.

"I don't know, but I'm gonna fin-" Shadow stopped mid-sentence when he heard a scream below him.

"Rose!" With that, Shadow rushed back down to the room that contained his Rose. The only problem was, She was no longer there. Shadow searched all around the room, but she was no where in sight. He felt a breeze enter the room, and then noticed that the window was open. He walked over to it.

By now his blood was boiling with rage. Someone had taken Amy! His Amy! His Rose! _That bat will pay dearly..._

**(And there you go. Chapter 10! Till next time...)**


	11. What am I?

**(Aloha! How are my favorite readers today? Nice and sparkly? Covered in chicken oil? Dipped in potato sauce? Well, however you are, welcome to Hunted chapter 11!**

**ABCSonicKirbyWarriors: **I'm so glad you like my story! I wasn't originally going to use all the Archie characters that I did. I was just going to use two, but I couldn't choose which two to use XD. So I just used all of them! Hope I do good enough with them for you to not hate me!

**Werewolf lover99/Beary: **Ultra mega super surprise! It's so ultra mega super that _I'm_ not even sure what all it will contain! XD. And here's chapter 11 so that you don't have to wait anymore :).

**aliciathewolf45: **Wouldn't you be ticked if you were in Shadow's skate-shoes? I know I would!

**Guest: **Let's hope not! She's too awesome to die so young D':.

**Guest: **-Slaps Amy on the forehead- Duh Amy! Duh!

**kokiricat: **...And better, and better, and better... XD At least I hope it keeps getting better like you say. Thanks :).

**SugerhogRose: **Yes I feel sorry for Rouge too. Of course I'm the one who is putting her through all of this... But I still feel bad.

Me: I'm so sorry Rouge!

Rouge: Yeah sure you are...

**Crazyshine: **I once saw a billboard that said that the number one killer of men today is stubbornness. Ain't that so true? And yeah, Lien-Da is pretty awesome in her own evil, sadistic way...

**I'm gonna have some fun and make a random character do the disclaimer! Let's see who it will be today. -Randomly picks a name out of a hat- And the lucky character is... Finitevus! **

**-Finitevus suddenly pops up.- **

**Finitevus: …? What just happened? **

**Me: You are doing the disclaimer. **

**Finitevus: No I'm not.**

**Me: Yes you are. **

**Finitevus: Why should I?**

**Me: Hmm... maybe I should just make you gay, then put make-up on you, then put you in a bright pink-**

**Finitevus: I get the point! Musicalocelot does not own me or any of those imbeciles in this story. She does own one that you don't know about yet. I'm not going to tell you who it is though. Why? Because I'm evil. Mwahahahahahaha!**

**Me: Now was that so hard? **

**Now, here's chapter 11 comin at cha...)**

**Hunted...**

**What am I?… **

**(No POV)**

Sirens wailed and blue and red lights flashed. Police cars were everywhere, searching for two 'wanted criminals'. Those two were currently hiding in a dumpster. Yes, they had been spotted. Knuckles wasn't the least bit happy as he brushed a rotting banana peel from off of his shoulder.

"This sucks." Said the red echidna.

"It stinks too." Rouge added.

They both looked at each other. Suddenly, Knuckles started chuckling. He wasn't really sure why. Rouge's crack wasn't really that funny to him, but he just couldn't help himself but to laugh. Once he started, Rouge joined in.

"Yeah, and the fact that the police still haven't found us just makes this even funnier!" Knuckles said. That comment just made them both laugh even harder.

_Am I drunk or something? _Rouge thought. _I didn't have any alcohol. Well, who cares? _

"We're gonna get ourselves caught doing this." Knuckles pointed out through his laughter.

"Those guys are too stupid to find us." Rouge said.

She was dead wrong. The sound of sirens and the brightness of a police car's lights suddenly took over the alley they were in.

"Time to make a quick getaway." Rouge said, still with a smile on her face. Knuckles nodded. The guardian quickly pushed the lid of the dumpster open. Once that was done, Rouge grabbed Knuckles and started flying.

Bullets whizzed past them as they cut through the late night air. Rouge landed on the top of a building.

"They probably have helicopters, so we need to find some cover." Rouge said.

"Has this ever happened to you before?" Knuckles asked.

"Once. Usually I don't have a big oaf slowing me down." Rouge said playfully.

"Big oaf? Is that your new nickname for me?" Knuckles asked. Instead of answering, the bat grabbed Knuckles by the arm and pulled him down behind a large vent. She had heard a helicopter approaching. Knuckles soon heard it as well.

The light from the helicopter flooded the area and revealed the two hiding mobians.

"Surrender immediately! Walk out with your hands up!" A G.U.N. soldier called with a megaphone.

"Like heck I am." Rouge mumbled. Rouge grabbed Knuckles by the hand and started running. The G.U.N. Soldiers fired at them as they attempted their escape. The diamond white bat was about to jump off of the roof when another helicopter suddenly appeared before them. Both of them skidded to a halt. Soldiers had them surrounded.

"Put your hands up!" A soldier shouted. All of the soldiers had their guns pointed at Rouge and Knuckles, ready to fire at any given moment. Rouge started lifting up her hands in defeat, but Knuckles wasn't ready to give up just yet.

Knuckles grabbed Rouge around the waist.

"Hold on tight." He whispered. She wrapped her arms around him, not thinking twice. Knuckles pulled his arm back, getting ready to do something rash. With one mighty punch, The part of the roof that Knuckles and Rouge were standing on caved in beneath them.

Knuckles and Rouge held onto each other tightly as they fell onto the floor below them. Knuckles landed on the floor with Rouge landing safely on top of him. He quickly pushed her up and she got to her feet. She helped him up and they made a run for it.

"Clever thinking Knucky, but warn me next time will ya?" Rouge said as they ran toward a window.

"Don't call me Knucky." The red guardian said, though sounding more amused then upset. He had a smirk on his face. Rouge kicked the glass out of the window, grabbed Knuckles, then jumped out, flying away.

**(Rouge's POV)**

After a while of flying around trying to lose G.U.N., Rouge finally got them away. She landed outside of an abandoned looking house outside of the city.

"This looks like a good place to crash for the night." Rouge said. Knuckles nodded, agreeing with her.

Knuckles had to punch the door open, since it was covered up with a large board. The two mobian's walked in, looking around.

The house was very small. It only had one floor and looked like it had been made for only one person to live in. All it had were a small living room, a small kitchen, a small bathroom, and one bedroom. You guessed it, it was a small bedroom. None of the windows had any glass in them, but they were mostly covered by boards. Never the less, there was a chilling draft coming in through the cracks.

"Well it isn't five star, but I've seen worse." Rouge said.

"You must have been in a box then." Knuckles guessed.

"How did you guess?" Rouge asked.

"You slept in a box?" Knuckles exclaimed. Rouge started laughing.

"Of course not! I was just pulling your leg. You are so gullible." Rouge joked. She walked over to the middle of the bare living room floor. The house had no furniture whatsoever. Knuckles joined her on the floor.

"I am not." He said.

"Prove it." Rouge challenged.

"How's this for not gullible. I didn't truly believe it when I heard that you had attacked Amy." Knuckles said.

This got the bat's attention.

"Why not?" She asked. She looked at him, waiting for his answer.

"Because, I knew you better then that. I knew that that was totally out of character for you. You would never hurt one of your friends like that. You may be a thief and a liar, but you are not a traitor." Knuckles explained. Rouge smirked, believing he was done, but to her surprise, and his, he wasn't.

"You actually aren't that bad for a thief. Yeah, you tried to take my Master Emerald several times. Yeah you robbed quite a few jewelery stores and whatnot. But, you always showed how loyal and brave you can be when you needed to. Kind even. And let's not forget that your very..." Knuckles suddenly stopped himself, realizing what he was doing. A deep blush came to his face.

Rouge was shocked. She just didn't know what to say. _I never knew he thought all of this about me. Why is he suddenly choosing now to say this? _She thought to herself. Then a thought came to her.

"I'm very..." She said, egging him on to finish his sentence. Knuckles looked away, his blush only getting redder, if that was possible. Rouge wasn't going to have this. She wanted to know what he was about to say.

She put her hand to his face and turned his head toward her, forcing him to look her in the eyes.

"What am I knuckles?" She asked calmly.

**(Knuckles POV) **

He cold feel the warmth of her hand on his cheek. He stared into her light blue eyes, frozen in his spot.

_I can't tell her. What would she think? C'mon Knuckles, figure a way out of this. _

He backed up, scooting away from her a little.

"We should get some rest." He said, avoiding the question.

He layed down on the floor, turning his back to her. Even though he couldn't see her face, he knew she must be disappointed. He kinda felt bad about that, but he couldn't have given her what she wanted. He just couldn't. Right?

**(And there you have it folks. Knuckles just chickened out. Oh Knuckles you stubborn echidna. Well anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Don't forget to review! Oh and please go to my profile and vote on my poll! Till next time...)**


	12. A bat in a tree

**(Hola Amigos! I have returned with another chapter! You'll never believe What it was that kept me from making another chapter. **

**You see, I was just about to start righting it one day, when this tiny pink fairy appeared out of nowhere in my room and poofed me to another dimension where I had to use a spaghetti cannon to fight this giant pizza monster to save all the people of broccoli town from being destroyed by a jelly volcano that was about to erupt! **

**Don't believe that story? Good, cause it isn't true XD. Blame it on writers block. **

**Werewolf lover99: **That's good. Ha ha That doesn't really surprise me that fatness would be the number one killer. Especially when I walk into a Super K-Mart and there is a whole section set aside for 'extra large' women. No offense to anyone out there.

**Usagi3000: **Wasn't singed in? That's OK.

**Endermagic979:** It's too soon for him to say that, but yeah he should have. Stupid Knux! Thanks :).

**aliciathewolf45: **Ha ha ha Knucklebutt! I like that. It's funny XD.

**RobinsonSiblings: **I think I might know what episode you're thinking of, but since I'm not a telepath, (though that would be kinda cool) I don't really know. I know right? And they think Knuckles is gullible!

**ABCSonicKirbyWarriors: **Aww, I'm glad to hear that. I probably could do enough to make you hate me, but I'm not going to XD. I'm not mean like that :3.

**crazyshine: **Ha ha ha ha ha! You never cease to crack me up! I only watched the first episode of The Thundermans, and I guess it's a pretty good show. I like the two younger ones XD.

**SugerhogRose:** 1. Cause I'm just that good. 2. Well that Knucklehead will just have to figure something out.

**Elegant Solace: **Yeah I know the feeling. I've been pretty busy too. But like they always say, when life hands you lemons, make applesauce and then sit back and let the world wonder how you did it. Or was it something else? Oh well. Yeah I thought I should work on the relationship between Knuckles and Rouge some more.

**Time fore the disclaimer! Like I said in the last chapter of Return to Mobius, If you want your name or the name of your OC to be put in the hat, just PM me or put it in a review. Now, time to pick a name!**

**-Reaches into hat and pulls out a name- And the lucky character is... Silver!**

**-Silver poofs out of nowhere- **

**Silver: What... Did I just accidentally travel through time? Oh God, what time period am I in!? Did I go forward or backward!? What-**

**Me: Shut up! You didn't travel through time. You have been chosen by the hat to do the disclaimer for Hunted!**

**Silver: But I'm not even in this story. **

**Me: You don't know that. **

**Silver: Wait, am I gonna make an appearance? **

**Me: Not saying a word. **

**Silver: Oh C'mon. Just tell me! I promise I won't tell the readers! **

**Me: You know they are reading this, right?**

**Silver: … I knew that. I was just testing you. **

**Me: These people didn't come to read this dialogue, they came to read the story! Now do the disclaimer already! **

**Silver: Fine. Musicalocelot doesn't own me or the characters in this story. She just owns the plot. **

**Me: Thank you.**

**Sorry about that really long author's note. here's chapter 12 comin at cha...) **

**Hunted...**

**A bat in a tree….**

**(Amy's POV)**

Amy tapped her foot on the floor. _I am so bored! _She thought to herself. She had been blindfolded and tied to what she was sure was a chair, though they hadn't thought to tie up her legs. She was still wearing her thin hospital gown.

She had been there for hours. Well, she had no way to keep track of time, but it sure felt like hours!

Amy still hurt and ached all over, and the position she was stuck in didn't help at all. She didn't even know where she was or who her captors were, but she did know one thing: everyone believed Rouge was behind it all.

_Why didn't I just tell Shadow right off the bat that Rouge didn't attack me? Why would he even believe that anyway? He knows her better then that!_

Then Amy heard a creaking sound. It sounded like an old metal door opening.

"Who's there?" Amy called.

No answer. She heard footsteps coming toward her, bringing the mystery person closer.

"Who are you and what do you want with me?" the rose colored hedgehog asked. Still no answer. She was starting to get freaked out. She started struggling in her ropes, but soon ceased since the pain was too much.

That's when she heard laughter. Maniacal laughter. She recognized this laugh, though she wasn't sure where from. It chilled her to the bone.

"Who are you?" The pink hedgehog asked again.

She suddenly felt hot breath on her face that made her shriek. The mystery person was face to face with her!

"You don't wanna know toots." The person whispered. That voice. The way he called her toots. It couldn't be anyone else.

"Scourge?" Amy asked. She heard clapping.

"Bingo! Give the girl a prize!" Scourge congratulated in a mocking tone.

"Let me go Scourge!" Amy growled with the most intimidating tone she could muster. It didn't work, of course. It only made Scourge laugh.

"Aww, does Pinky wanna go back to her Shady Wady? Is poor wittle Amy scared?" Scourge taunted.

Amy growled at this. _How dare he talk to me like that! _

"Why did you kidnap me!?" Amy demanded.

"Who do ya think I am? Egghead? I'm not gonna just tell ya the whole plan like some schmuck with no life." The evil hedgehog said.

"Then why are you here?" Amy asked.

"To mess with you babe." Scourge answered.

"Do you think this is some sort of game!? And don't call me babe!" Amy yelled. She heard footsteps and Scourge was at her face again.

"You know I do. So let's have some fun, babe." he said in a flirtatious tone that scared Amy.

"What do you mean by... fun?" Amy asked.

"You've gotten a lot prettier over the years." Scourge whispered. _If he tries anything... _

"Eep!" Amy shrieked when she felt a hand touch a spot she didn't want touched. She kicked her leg up, hard.

Scourge screamed out and jumped back. _Looks like I hit the right spot. _Amy thought as a victorious smirk crept onto her face.

"You scream like a little girl Scourge." Amy taunted.

She heard a growl, and then she heard the door open and Scourge limp out. She had been able to ward him off for now.

_I sure hope he doesn't come back again. What if he... _Amy didn't want to think about that. Even the very idea made her shiver, and not from the cold, though it was quite cold in there.

_Shadow, please find me. Please find me soon... _

**(Knuckles' POV)**

The early morning sunshine spilled through the holes of the boarded up window and washed over the two sleeping mobians. Knuckles, always the early riser, stirred as he awoke with the sun.

Normally, he would get up right away, but today, he just didn't feel like it. This spot was so warm and comfortable. He remained lying there and held on tighter and snuggled closer to the thing in his arms. He wasn't sure what it was in his half asleep, half awake daze, but it was warm and soft. It didn't smell the best, but he didn't much care.

Slowly, the echidna opened his eyes. He only saw white. Confused by this, he moved his head back and got the shock of his life. Laying there in his arms, dead to the world, was Rouge. He had been holding her in his sleep!

With wide eyes and a deep blush, Knuckles quickly let go of her and scooted back. _What the heck did I just do and why the heck did I just do it!? _Knuckles mind screamed at him. Boy was he glad that he had woken up first.

He tried his hardest to get rid of his blush. If she were to wake up and see him blushing, she would ask for sure. He was not about to tell her the truth!

Unable to remove his blush, he decided to just walk outside for a little while to clear his head.

Knuckles got up and walked out through the hole he had punched through the board covering the door.

Standing on the front porch, he took in the fresh air. It was cool and crisp and soothing to his lung.

He just loved the outdoors. It was his favorite place to be. He could hear the birds chirp, the small woodland critters scurry around. He could feel the cool breeze and the warm sunshine.

Felling relaxed, the crimson guardian stepped off the porch and walked out into the forest.

**(Rouge's POV)**

Her eyes fluttered open. At first, Rouge was confused by her surroundings. She had expected to wake up in her bed. Looking around, she could tell that this was not her apartment. Then it all came flooding back to her. No, this wasn't her apartment. It was an old abandoned shack in the middle of the forest. The albino bat lifted herself off of the floor and stood up, stretching and yawning. She looked around.

_Where's Knuckles? _She wondered. Rouge started searching the small house.

"Knuckie?" She called. No answer.

_Where could he possibly be? _She thought as she finished searching the house. She hadn't found him anywhere. Then she thought of something. _What if he's gone. _This thought stopped her in her tracks.

_What if he left me? I've been nothing but trouble for him. Maybe he got tired of me and just left! What if he's telling G.U.N. Where I am right now! What if they are one their way to come get me! _

With all these thoughts rolling around in her head, she ran out of the house and started running down the overgrown dirt path leading into the forest.

Suddenly, she bumped into something and fell on her butt. Looking up, she saw, to her relief, that it was Knuckles. His sweater was off. He was holding it with both hands, and in it were a bunch of apples.

"Thanks for nearly knocking me over Batgirl." Knuckles said. Rouge just sat there, staring at him.

_He looks so hot without his shirt on. Those abs are to die for... _She thought to herself.

"Batgirl!" Knuckles yelled, snapping her out of her daze.

"What?" She asked, getting up.

"I said, I found an apple tree in the forest and picked us some breakfast." Knuckles said, kind of irritated.

"Not what I would have chosen for breakfast, but I guess it will have to do." Rouge replied.

"Let's head back to the shack." Knuckles said, rolling his eyes at her lack of gratitude.

**(Unknown POV) **

She watched from the trees as her two targets walked back to the pitiful shack they had crashed in. She spread her wings and flew silently through the trees undetected, following them.

She had been searching for them all night. Now all she needed was for them to have their guard completely down so that she could strike.

The two made it to the little house and the echidna walked in. She perched herself in the tree closest to the house, hiding herself in the leaves. That's when her communicator came on.

"Have you found them yet?" The annoyed voice of Lien-Da asked.

"I have found them. Now I'm just waiting for the right time to attack." She answered.

"Well hurry up bat. I want them taken out, pronto. Got it?" Lien-Da asked.

"Got it." The bat answered. She turned off her communicator. Looking back at the house, she noticed to white bat standing on the porch, looking around. Her ears almost seemed to be scanning the area.

For some reason, that white bat reminded her of someone. She wasn't sure who the white bat and red echidna were. Her boss hadn't given her names. She had just told her about them and sent her off to kill them. That is what she did best, being a highly esteemed assassin and all.

The white bat gave up and walked back into the shack. The bat in the tree just stayed there, waiting for the perfect moment. _Stop thinking about that bat. Just do your job and get paid. _

**(And there we are. Chapter 12. Should I even have this story rated T? It just doesn't seem like it deserves a T rating. Same with Return to Mobius. Tell me in your reviews if I should keep it T or stop being so paranoid and just bump it down to K+. Till next time...)**


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